Kisscut by Karin Slaughter Page B

from her stare. Lena shrugged, as if to say, "What did you expect?"
    "Oh, God, oh, God," Dottie whispered, then stopped abruptly. Her body went limp, and Sara softened the woman's fall as she fainted to the floor.
    Jeffrey stood in the hallway outside the briefing room, talking to Lena.
    "We'll need to get to the Patterson boy right away," Jeffrey told her. "Sara can do the autopsy briefing by herself."
    Lena looked over his shoulder toward the back door. Sara had walked Dottie to her car to make sure the woman was okay, but not before giving a taut warning to Lena that she would be back.
    Jeffrey said, "Maria is pulling his address right now. There may be something more to his involvement in this. Hopefully, we'll catch his sister at home, too."
    Lena nodded, crossing her arms. "You want me to take the sister and you can do Mark?"
    "Let's see how it goes," Jeffrey answered. "I also want to get a look at this preacher."
    Something flickered in Lena 's eyes. She said, "He's at my church. Well, not my church, but it's where Hank goes, and I go along with him sometimes." She shrugged. "You know, for something to do. I'm not religious like that or anything."
    "Yeah," Jeffrey answered, a little startled that she had offered this information. It was as close to chatty as Lena had gotten since her attack. He thought maybe it was doing her some good to be involved in the case, and Jeffrey was pleased with that.
    "I'm gonna call Brad in off patrol," Jeffrey said. "I want to talk to him as soon as I can and see what he says about Fine."
    "You think Fine's the one who did this to Jenny?"
    Jeffrey tucked his hands into his pockets. He could not imagine anyone harming a child, but the fact remained that someone had. "We need to find out if Fine was on that retreat during Christmas."
    "Maybe I could-" Lena stopped as the back door was thrown open with a loud bang.
    Jeffrey turned just as Sara closed the door. He could tell from the way she walked up the hall that she was angry as hell.
    About ten feet away from them, Sara demanded, "What were you doing in there? How could you do that to her?"
    Lena dropped her hands to her side. Jeffrey saw her fists clench as Sara shortened the distance between them.
    Lena moved away, so that her back was against the wall. She kept her hands clenched and her voice was strong when she said, "I was doing my job."
    "Your job?" Sara shot back, getting in Lena 's face. Sara had a good six inches on Lena, and she was using them to her advantage. "Is it your job to torture a woman who's just lost her kid? Is it your job to show her those pictures?"
    Sara's voice cracked on this last word. "How could you do that to her, Lena? How could you make those pictures the last memory she'll ever have of her daughter?"
    Jeffrey said, "Sara-" just as Sara leaned in and whispered something in Lena 's ear. He could not hear what she had said, but Lena 's reaction was immediate. Her shoulders dropped, and she reminded Jeffrey of a kitten that had been picked up by the scruff of its neck.
    Sara saw this, and he could see the immediate guilt on her face. She put her hand over her mouth, as if she could keep the words in. "I'm sorry," she said to Lena. "I am so sorry."
    Lena cleared her throat, looking down at the floor. "It's okay," she said, though clearly it was not.
    Sara must have realized that she was still crowding Lena, because she stepped back. " Lena, I'm sorry," she repeated. "I had no right to say that."
    Lena held up her hand to stop Sara. She took a breath, but did not let it go. Instead, she said, "I'll be in the car when you want to go."
    The comment was meant for Jeffrey, he realized, and he told Lena, "Okay. Good." He fumbled for his keys and held them out to her, but she did not take them. Instead, she extended her hand, palm up, waiting for him to drop them.
    "Okay," Lena said, holding the keys in her fist. She did not look at Jeffrey or Sara again. She stared at the floor, even as she walked down the hallway.